I Accuse!: Difference between revisions
add |
|||
Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
| director = [[José Ferrer]] |
| director = [[José Ferrer]] |
||
| producer = [[Sam Zimbalist]] |
| producer = [[Sam Zimbalist]] |
||
| based on = |
| based on = the book ''Captain Dreyfus; The Story of a Mass Hysteria'' by Nicholas Halasz |
||
| screenplay = [[Gore Vidal]] |
| screenplay = [[Gore Vidal]] |
||
| starring = José Ferrer<br>[[Anton Walbrook]] |
| starring = José Ferrer<br>[[Anton Walbrook]] |
||
Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
* [[Malcolm Keen]] as President of France |
* [[Malcolm Keen]] as President of France |
||
{{div col end}} |
{{div col end}} |
||
==Production== |
|||
The film was based on a book ''Captain Dreyfus: Story of Mass Hysteria'' which was published in 1955. The ''new York Times'' said it "had high merits".<ref>The Magnificent Storm |
|||
By ALBERT GUERARD. New York Times ]31 July 1955: BR3. </ref> |
|||
In October 1955 MGM acquired an option on the film rights. The story had been filmed previously, notably in ''[[The Life of Emile Zola]]'' and ''[[The Dreyfus Case]]'', but MGM claimed the book "contains quite a bit of material that had not come to life before".<ref>BY WAY OF REPORT: Prospect for Zinnemann -- Local Film Matters |
|||
By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 9 Oct 1955: X5. </ref> |
|||
In January 1957 [[Sam Zimablist]] announced that [[Jose Ferrer]] would star and direct.<ref>Looking at Hollywood: Jose Ferrer Will Direct, Star in Dreyfus Case Film |
|||
Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 15 Jan 1957: a9. </ref><ref>PECK TO PERFORM IN MOVIE FOR FOX. New York Times 15 Jan 1957: 24. </ref> |
|||
In March Viveca Lindfors signed to co star.<ref>'MY MAN GODFREY' SUSPENDED AGAIN New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]05 Mar 1957: 36. </ref> |
|||
The film was known as ''Captain Dreyfus'' before being retitled ''I Accuse''.<ref>2 SCRIPT WRITERS WIN CREDIT FIGHT. New York Times 6 Mar 1957: 34. </ref> |
|||
Location work was done in Belgium. The French army refused filming in that country.<ref>L'AFFAIRE DREYFUS |
|||
Buchwald, Art. Los Angeles Times 10 June 1957: B5. </ref> Filming finished by June 1957.<ref>Alan Ladd Goes Back To Detecting |
|||
Louella Parsons:. The Washington Post and Times Herald 14 June 1957: A21.</ref> |
|||
==Reception== |
==Reception== |
||
===Box Office=== |
|||
The film was a box office flop. It earned $190,000 in the US and Canada and $475,000 elsewhere, leading to a loss of $1,415,000.<ref name="Mannix"/> |
The film was a box office flop. It earned $190,000 in the US and Canada and $475,000 elsewhere, leading to a loss of $1,415,000.<ref name="Mannix"/> |
||
Revision as of 02:03, 9 October 2019
I Accuse! | |
---|---|
Directed by | José Ferrer |
Screenplay by | Gore Vidal |
Produced by | Sam Zimbalist |
Starring | José Ferrer Anton Walbrook |
Cinematography | Freddie Young |
Edited by | Frank Clarke |
Music by | William Alwyn |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.8 million[1] |
Box office | $665,000[1] |
I Accuse! is a British-American 1958 CinemaScope biographical drama film directed by and starring José Ferrer. The film is based on the true story of the Dreyfus Case, in which a Jewish captain in the French Army is falsely accused of treason.
Plot synopsis
In 1894 Alfred Dreyfus (José Ferrer), a Jewish captain in the French Army, is falsely accused of treason. He is sentenced to imprisonment on Devil's Island. When the real traitor is found, the French Army tries to hide the truth by exonerating the traitor in a mock trial. Émile Zola, the famous French author, writes a letter to the President of France entitled "I Accuse!", which reveals the truth behind the cover up. The letter is published in the newspaper and Zola is sued for libel, leading to a re-examination of the entire Dreyfus case.
Cast
- José Ferrer as Captain Alfred Dreyfus
- Anton Walbrook as Maj. Esterhazy
- Viveca Lindfors as Lucie Dreyfus
- Leo Genn as Maj. Piquart
- Emlyn Williams as Émile Zola
- David Farrar as Mathieu Dreyfus
- Donald Wolfit as Gen. Mercier
- Herbert Lom as Maj. DuPaty de Clam
- Harry Andrews as Maj. Henry
- Felix Aylmer as Edgar Demange
- George Coulouris as Col. Sandherr
- Peter Illing as Georges Clemenceau
- Michael Hordern as Prosecutor
- Laurence Naismith as Judge
- Ernest Clark as Prosecutor
- Eric Pohlmann as Bertillon
- John Phillips as Prosecutor, Esterhazy trial
- Malcolm Keen as President of France
Production
The film was based on a book Captain Dreyfus: Story of Mass Hysteria which was published in 1955. The new York Times said it "had high merits".[2]
In October 1955 MGM acquired an option on the film rights. The story had been filmed previously, notably in The Life of Emile Zola and The Dreyfus Case, but MGM claimed the book "contains quite a bit of material that had not come to life before".[3]
In January 1957 Sam Zimablist announced that Jose Ferrer would star and direct.[4][5]
In March Viveca Lindfors signed to co star.[6]
The film was known as Captain Dreyfus before being retitled I Accuse.[7]
Location work was done in Belgium. The French army refused filming in that country.[8] Filming finished by June 1957.[9]
Reception
Box Office
The film was a box office flop. It earned $190,000 in the US and Canada and $475,000 elsewhere, leading to a loss of $1,415,000.[1]
Notes
The fact that Dreyfus was railroaded because he was Jewish was obscured in the movie The Life of Emile Zola (1937). Only those villains whose names were a matter of public record (Major Dort, Major Esterhazy) are specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. to avoid lawsuits from their descendants (remember that the events depicted in the film, most of which take place between 1894 and 1902, were still within living memory in 1937). As for Dreyfus himself, he was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906-after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial (Dreyfus died in 1935, outliving everyone else involved in the case).[10][11]
References
- ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ The Magnificent Storm By ALBERT GUERARD. New York Times ]31 July 1955: BR3.
- ^ BY WAY OF REPORT: Prospect for Zinnemann -- Local Film Matters By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 9 Oct 1955: X5.
- ^ Looking at Hollywood: Jose Ferrer Will Direct, Star in Dreyfus Case Film Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune 15 Jan 1957: a9.
- ^ PECK TO PERFORM IN MOVIE FOR FOX. New York Times 15 Jan 1957: 24.
- ^ 'MY MAN GODFREY' SUSPENDED AGAIN New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]05 Mar 1957: 36.
- ^ 2 SCRIPT WRITERS WIN CREDIT FIGHT. New York Times 6 Mar 1957: 34.
- ^ L'AFFAIRE DREYFUS Buchwald, Art. Los Angeles Times 10 June 1957: B5.
- ^ Alan Ladd Goes Back To Detecting Louella Parsons:. The Washington Post and Times Herald 14 June 1957: A21.
- ^ http://www.allmovie.com/movie/life-of-emile-zola-v29244
- ^ TCM - Ben Mankiewicz on 28 March 2015
External links
- I Accuse! at IMDb
- José Ferrer at IMDb
- I Accuse! at AllMovie
- I Accuse! at the TCM Movie Database
- I Accuse! at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- 1958 films
- 1950s historical films
- 1950s biographical films
- British films
- British biographical films
- British historical films
- British black-and-white films
- English-language films
- Films about the Dreyfus affair
- Films based on non-fiction books
- Films set in 1894
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Films directed by José Ferrer
- Films with screenplays by Gore Vidal
- 1950s drama films
- Films scored by William Alwyn
- Cultural depictions of Georges Clemenceau
- Cultural depictions of Alfred Dreyfus
- Cultural depictions of Émile Zola
- Historical film stubs